So here it goes...

Tagged by April with -------Ten Weird Things About Me -

1. I really, really like camo clothes. (mainly for my kids – in fact I am going today to get a camo diaper bag!)
2. I have several ½” to 1” scars on my stomach from having moles removed and then getting pregnant before they healed.
3. I can’t sleep with windows open unless the window can’t be reached from the ground w/out a ladder.
4. I really like my job.
5. It annoys me to no end to read a newspaper that someone else has already read. (to the point I have to buy another one!)
6. I like being busy, don’t get me wrong sometimes a break is nice.
7. I don’t eat tomatos, strawberries, bananas and certain other foods because I can’t stand the texture, not the taste, the texture.
8. I’m extremely flexible (albeit I’m outta shape) like put my foot behind my head, weird.
9. I can’t do spook houses or horror flicks, they give me nightmares.
10. I can’t stand for my socks not to match what I’m wearing.

This is from a "Joke of the Day" email thing - I liked it and it reminded me that sometimes we have to work a lot harder at being happy and it really is a day at a time thing.

Rex Barker here with "The Best Day of My Life," sent in by G. M. L...
Please submit your favorite inspirational stories, quotes or pieces to: RexBarker@HumorNetwork.com
Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever!
There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I'm going to celebrate! Today, I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger.
I will go through this day with my head held high, and a happy heart. I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts: the morning dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the birds.
Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice. Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people. I'll make someone smile. I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don't even know. Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I'll tell a child how special he is, and I'll tell someone I love just how deeply I care for her and how much she means to me.
Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things I have already been given. I'll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in the Divine Plan ensures everything will be just fine. And tonight, before I go to bed, I'll go outside and Praise my eyes to the heavens and stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon.
As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, and be thankful for the best day of my life. And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child, excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, ever!
This is Rex Barker reminding you that if one of your goals in life is to be happy, reread this piece every day --- and joyfully watch how your outlook changes.

Holy Toledo Batman!

Kael is WALKING! Not all the time, but more and more. The little fart is so funny. He'll just be sitting in the middle of the room and stand up. The most steps he has probably taken in a row are about 6 maybe 7, but his determination has me awestruck. It's probably a good thing he is the baby and my only boy because I have a feeling it is going to come in very handy that I can be so laid back and relaxed with him and about what he's doing. Everything he does is funny to me and watching his temperament (oh holy *St. Jude does he have a temper!), his determination, his growing personality have me convinced that he will probably be an incorrigible little heathen! However, I will make him behave in public! But if you are visiting our home I'll go ahead and warn you now that you will probably think I am a horrible mother that allows him way to many freedoms and caters to the demands of a child!! So now that we are clear on just who runs my household we should probably move on.

I finally got ahold of the photography studio Reflections here in town and set up an appointment to have the kids' portraits done. I was so proud of myself that I had finally done this! I was telling the girls and their dad last night that I had set the session up for Friday at 1pm only to find out I had to be in Pryor and wasn't sure if I'd be back by then. During this I can't figure out why he is looking at me so strangely and why the oldest divinity looks stricken! He carefully points out that 1pm is in the middle of the day as the oldest divinity screeches what class she'd be in at that time. Oops! it never occurred to me until that moment that I would have had to take both girls out of school to have their pics done. lol Such a blonde sometimes. So I am now going to try and reschedule.

And if anyone is wondering, I haven't changed my mind about my marriage and the post I put up a while back. There are however extenuating circumstances that have made it necessary to continue sharing a house for now. Sometime later when it's not so fresh I will probably elaborate, but right now it just doesn't feel like the right time.

My daily mantra has become, "Patience is a virtue, and oh how virtuous I must be today!".

Well I will bore you no longer, have a great day and smile even when it's not funny, it just makes you feel better! (oh, and you look younger when your smiling!)

*Sidenote: I'm not Catholic and would not want to offend anyone that is. I am fascinated by the Catholic devotion to Saints and feel a strong pull to the belief that many of the Saints were truly that. And my reference to St. Jude is not meant in a derogatory way by any means. St. Jude is the saint of 'desperate situations' and well I just thought it fit!

Kids are so darn funny!

We're sitting in the living room the other night Kiersten and I in the recliner, she was reading to me and baby divinity before bed and I can't remember what topic we had gotten off to, but out of kiersten's mouth comes, "It's on, like Granny's UNDERWEAR!"

She said it very seriously, without even cracking a smile. I was rolling.